The Yreka Miners girls soccer team opens the 2012-2013 season on Friday and Saturday at the Foothill Winter Warm Up Soccer Invitational in Redding.
The Miners face Gridley High at 11 a.m. and Foothill High at 3 p.m. at the Redding Soccer Park. On Saturday, they take on Anderson at 11 a.m.
Last season, Yreka finished 2-11-1 overall.
Third year head coach Brian Cowley said that while quite young, he believes this year's team, which currently has 22 players, has enough talent, especially on offense, to make strides this season.
Cowley is excited to be competing in the Redding Invitational and said it will give him a better idea of the potential of this year's team.
The Miners have several players who can score and move the ball down the field and Cowley believes that the offense will be on the strong side this year. On defense, he said that things are still a work in progress but they have made improvements at practice each day.
This season, there are number of freshman girls who have looked solid in practice and should contribute, Cowley said. He said that this bodes well for the future of the program.
A key returner is junior Jenna Turner. Early last season she suffered a broken collar bone and was lost for the year. Having her back will certainly help the squad, Cowley said. Nicole Cowley played in a Medford, Ore., based soccer league last spring, which helped her gain experience and should also contribute this season, Brian Cowley said. Other players Cowley said that should help this season include Kendall Nielsen and Kara Jackson.
West Valley, which has been a very strong team in the Northern Athletic League has left. Cowley said that it appears a number of teams will be contending for the league crown this season. While still early, he believes that the Miners can certainly be in the mix this season.
“Our goal is to win league,” he said.